The Light Amongst the Shadows
by EverShadow
Summary: The retelling of ICO. What was Ico like before the castle, before meeting his princess? And what about in the castle? What did Ico feel, what is Yorda's story? This is their story, a story of an unbroken bond and the light shining through the shadows.


EverShadow: I wanted always to write a story about one of my favorite games of EVER!! ICO was just so beautiful when I saw it and two years later, when I actually bought it, it was still beautiful. I just loved the atmosphere that it created for me.

Tiger of Blackness: Much as it hurts, it's true. I must agree with her for once…

EverShadow: What's that supposed to mean?  
Tiger of Blackness: That your judgment is never right, perhaps? Or maybe it's that you just don't like what everyone else does, good or bad.

EverShadow: Ouch. On with the show.

Dedication to a Castle

_"Is it a boy? Is it a girl?!" The anxious father asked, jumping up and down from outside his hut. The village healer blinked and wiped his forehead and rubbed his eyes, not quite sure that what he was seeing was real. "Please, tell me, boy or girl?" The village healer turned around and the woman burst into tears when she saw the child. The grim look on the healers face turned the father's stomach to stone and he could only sputter out, "Is it a…a…stillborn?" The healer shook his head and stepped aside to reveal the child._

_Small, pale, moving and breathing yet surprisingly quit, the child stretched away from the sudden wind that the father had created. The baby was a beautiful child._

_"A boy…" He whispered, stroking the head before turning pale and dropping to his knees. "No…no…no…" His hand dropped to his side._

_"Edrik…" The mother whispered, through tears. The healer sighed and walked out of the small house and looked over to the leader who stood with a stoic face, prepared for the inevitable._

_"Well?" The leader, Ashun asked._

_"That's the one." The healer said before retiring to his own house. There, he sat down and put his head in his hands. He had just condemned another child to death. A child so undeserving of such a thing. And for the rest of his short life, he'd be ridiculed, mocked or avoided at all cost, not to mention the parents as well. He hated his job. He hated the village for doing such a thing, ever since that…that witch came to the village and put a curse on them, they had been doing nothing but killing children. The leader would tell the people, "this village has been cleansed of evil once again!" And the other villagers would cheer. But in the shadows, the families that had lost their children grieved. He closed his eyes and sat back in his chair._

_Inside the small house where the parents cried silently, the child was the only one silent among them, the child with the small horns._

_In the darkness, a child of light was born. The mother, still weary with labor, held her child, it seemed that even the darkness marveled how beautiful she was. Light seemed to generate from her, like she was some kind of great baby goddess._

_"My child…" The mother whispered. "What should I call you?" The baby squirmed in her arms, making small noises of hunger. A faint glimmer of evil crossed her eyes. "Yorda…Yorda…you are destined to revive me. I will not die."_

A rock hit Ico in the back. He winced slightly, giving off a small, "ow" before turning around and seeing the culprit.

"Freak! Go away!" Five young boys yelled. Ico looked at the sadly before sticking his hands in his pockets and walking off into the woods. The woods were nice and quiet and no one made fun of him there. He knew he was "cursed" and that the village was going to get rid of him as soon as possible. He had tried to run away several times but they always brought him back. If they hated him so much, whey didn't they just let him go, exile him instead of sacrificing him to the "evil spirit." But some people were always backwards. He kicked a stone in frustration and fought back tears. He had to be brave, it was for the good of the village. If it made his parents happy, then he would be brave for them.

"I don't want to…" He sniffed. He climbed a tree, something he had learned to do to escape some of the attacks from the other children. He sat near the top, gazing at the sky, wondering what it was like to be a bird and have so much freedom with flying. He outstretched a hand as if the sun were extending a hand back to pull him away from his fate. His eyes watered at the thought of dying but he wiped them away. _I must stay brave._ He thought. He sniffed slightly, wiping his nose. He had almost come to accept it, almost. Tomorrow would be his tenth birthday, only two more years until he was to be taken away and never return. Ico shook his head and tried not to think about it as best as he could. He leaned his head back and drifted.

Below him, a young girl radiating with light walked with the butterflies. She was dressed very plainly but light seemed to shine off her. Her pale skin only served to enhance that image. She ran, sometimes skipping with happiness. The forest went quiet, observing the strange but enchanting being. Nothing seemed quite so scary anymore, even in Ico's dream, there was no fear, no sadness. The girl had banished all those thoughts. Birds flew with her as she disappeared into the dark forest.

EverShadow: Well, this is basically the beginning. What happened to Ico and Yorda. Yorda's chapter will come next as will Ico and it will gradually move into the game itself. Since the game never really gave their feelings, I'll narrate them.

Tiger of Blackness: Butcher it will ya?

EverShadow: No! I won't! EverShadow signing off.


End file.
